The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has called on anti-corruption state institutions to probe allegations by Professor Frimpong-Boateng, former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
Professor Frimpong-Boateng in a report dated 19th March 2021 made a plethora of allegations that the GII says demand an urgent independent investigation to establish its truth.
The GII welcomed the directive by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to the CID of the Ghana Police Service on the matter.
It, however, stressed various anti-corruption and investigative bodies must collaborate on the matter just to assuage the fears of Ghanaians.
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The GII indicates it will formally petition CHRAJ and the OSP to investigate aspects of the report that are corruption-related.
The GII, in a statement, argued the President could also set up an Independent, Bi-partisan Commission of Enquiry to undertake transparent investigations into the issues raised in the report.
The call follows the leaked report on the work of the IMCIM dated 19th March 2021 and authored by Professor Frimpong-Boateng, former Chairman of the IMCIM.
“Fortunately, the report is not a vague collection of incidents but mentions names of institutions and individuals whose actions or inactions the report perceives as complicit in the illegality and harm being perpetuated in the search for gold.”
“For instance, the report makes mention of a Cabinet directive to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources that was disregarded and the Forestry Commission’s role in mining activities in forest reserves.”
“The report also cites politically exposed persons including Mr. Gabby Okyere Darko, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Information, Mr. Osafo Marfo, Hon. Joseph Albert Quam, former Member of Parliament of Manso Nkwanta Constituency, and a few others for allegedly abusing their position or engaging in influence peddling,” the GII said.
It argued pronouncements by President Akufo-Addo about his determination to fight illegal mining have become a cliché because a number of incidents have occurred to test his commitment to ending illegal mining.
“…But sad to say, the President’s actions have not kept pace with his rhetoric leading to waning trust in the President’s commitment to the fight against ‘galamsey’ by all well-meaning Ghanaians.”
The Initiative averred that the report does not only offer the President an opportunity to redeem the trust of the people of Ghana but also places a burden on state institutions such as the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to rebuild public confidence, which according to the Afrobarometer (round 6), 63 per cent of Ghanaians would rather engage religious leaders in resolving their issues rather than engaging state institutions